Time And Time Again or The More Things Change
by kogus2006
Summary: Filled with self-doubt after the death of Astrid, the Doctor revisits old places, remeets old friends and learns to trust his judgement again. Please r&r, so I'll know if I should keep going with this one.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Doctor Who. I do however retain rights to the story itself, and any characters which appear within that are not part of official Doctor Who cannon. 

**Chapter 1.**

The Doctor sank down wearily in his chair.

The monitor showed the Titanic slowly moving away towards its rendezvous with the repair and rescue ships of the Max Capricorn Cruise Line.

The words came unbidden to his mind: "You can save Astrid. You have the power. Go back and save her. It would be so easy."

"No!" his mind shot back. "I don't have the right. It's not my place to decide who lives and who….dies."

The years weighed heavily on him at times like these. He felt so old; so empty; so alone.

A small light on the console started blinking, bringing the Doctor out of his melancholy for the moment.

He reached out and flipped a switch, then turned his head back toward the monitor to check the systems readout displayed there.

"Low fuel." he thought. "Damn. What a time for a pit stop."

He was setting the controls for Cardiff and the rift when a second light caught his attention.

His eyebrows knitted together as he checked the new information. According to the readings, the Tardis was now drifting slowly backwards through time. But that was impossible. He was sure he had remembered to set the drift compensators.

Swiftly the Doctor moved round the console. He had set them. Some force was gently pulling the Tardis back through time.

Resetting the scanner for a temporal sweep, he soon located the source.

"1965….London….Shoreditch...oh snap." the Doctor thought. "Coal Hill School."

Something at the school was giving off temporal energy. He felt certain it couldn't possibly be the Tardis with one of his previous selves, because he couldn't remember visiting Coal Hill in 1965.

He also discarded the possibility of it being a future incarnation upon checking the energy signature of the disturbance. It was definitely not a Tardis, but there was something vaguely familiar about it. Something nagged at the back of his memory.

He was about to run further scans, when the energy waves simply stopped.

"Well, Doctor" he said to himself, "there's only one way to find out what it is. Looks like it's time to go to school."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

The Tardis materialized next to the cricket pitch with its usual bumps and groans. The Doctor stepped out, locking the door behind him, and walked briskly across the field toward the school's main building.

Memories flooded back (as they always did) as he took in the sights around him.

A smile flowed across his face as he turned his head back to look at the pitch where the Tardis sat patiently waiting its master's return. "Oh yeah" he thought to himself. "That was where Susan whacked her first half-century." He had been so proud of her that day. The two of them had gone out for scones to celebrate afterward.

The smile changed quickly to a scowl. "Stop it" he scolded himself. "No need to dredge up the past. Especially her."

Pushing open the doors he stepped quietly into the old school's large halls. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and checked for any trace of the temporal disturbance that had affected the Tardis. He found a very faint trace coming from the far end of the school's left wing and headed straight for it.

"That's the science wing. A time experiment, maybe? Naaaaah! It couldn't be. Not in this time period. Nowhere near the tech", he argued with himself.

His argument stopped abruptly though, because at that moment, as he was turning round a corner, he collided with a man coming the other way. The stack of books and papers the man was carrying scattered across the hallway.

The Doctor dropped to his knees and started retrieving them, apologies tumbling from his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was just lost in thought and didn-." His words stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes grew wide, as he glanced up at the man's smiling face.

"It's alright, my friend. These things happen to all of us" spoke a voice from so long ago. "I was as much at fault as you. Trying to carry too much stuff all at once." The man crouched and began picking up the papers.

The Doctor stood slowly, the smile slowly coming back to his face.

"Oh brilliant. Chesterton. Ian Chesterton."

The man looked up, his puzzlement registering on his face. "Yes, I am. But I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I don't know you. Have we met?"

"Ages ago. Seems like centuries" the Doctor said still grinning from ear to ear.

Ian rose to his full height, carefully looking the stranger over. "I'm sorry; I'm afraid I can't remember you. Are you a new teacher here?"

"No."

"Parent of one of the students?"

"No."

Ian crossed his arms and stared hard at him.

"Then I'm sorry, but I must ask you to explain who you are, and why you're here after school hours."

"What are you doing here after hours?" the Doctor asked. "Grading papers?"

"Answer the question please" Ian returned, a sharp edge coming on in his voice.

The Doctor smiled knowingly. "That's a nice tie" he said, glancing down momentarily at the strip of cloth hanging down Ian's chest. "Replaces the one you lost on Vortis quite nicely."

Ian blanched as though he'd been slapped. "What did you say?"

"You know, Vortis. The web planet. The Menoptra. The Zarbi. The Animus. How's Barbara by the way? Is she still gonna teach? For that matter, are you?" the Doctor rattled off in rapid fire succession.

Ian recovered his wits enough to grab the Doctor by his coat front and shove him up against the wall.

"All right you. No more games" he said dangerously. "I want to know who you are and how you know all that."

"I know because of the same reason you do, Ian: I was there."

Ian's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'you were there'? No one else was there." He thought for a moment. "Barbara. That's it. Barbara's gone blabbing either to you, or you overheard her blabbing to someone else. That's got to be it."

"Wrong. Although I will admit she was quite a bit of a blabber." His face drew up questioningly. "Blabber…blabber…is that really a word? Maybe I should have said babbler. No, that's not right. She did blab, but she didn't really babble that much…well, not all that much…well sometimes-". He interrupted his own train of babbling. "But that's not the point is it? No. The point is, young man that I most defiantly was there. It's me, Chesterton. It's me. The Doctor."

Ian stepped back in shock. "It's not possible."

"Any more impossible than a police box that's bigger inside than out? Or meeting Marco Polo? Or the Aztecs? Or the Daleks?"

The Doctor's eyes went wide, and he slapped his forehead. "Thick! Daleks! Of course, the Dalek time travel device. The one you and Barbara used to go home in. That's what pulled at the Tardis. God, I'm getting so old and thick! I knew that energy signature looked familiar."

He stopped and looked at Ian's incredulous stare. "How long have you been back, Chesterton? A week? Two?"

"Nine days. But it's impossible! You can't be the Doctor! You're too…" he trailed off.

"What? Too young?" The Doctor laughed. "Oh that was all soooooo long ago for me, young man. So many lifetimes."

"All right, if you're the Doctor, then tell me something that only I and the Doctor would know. Something not even Susan and Barbara would know."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Do you remember when the spring on the fast return switch broke and we were headed backwards towards the big bang?

"Yes."

"When I lied to Barbara and Susan about how much time we had left, I told you the truth. Now, I never did tell either of them that I lied to them. So, unless you told Barbara, the only way I could know that would be if I were the Doctor. Which…I am."

Ian swallowed hard. "Good grief. It is you. But…how?"

"I'm a Time Lord, Ian. My race has the ability to regenerate. When my body finally grows old and wears out, or is damaged badly enough that I'm about to die, I use the energies of time to regenerate my cells. In effect, giving me a new body. Some of my people were so good at it they could control what they looked like when they regenerated, but I never quite got the knack of it though. I've always wanted to be ginger, but I can't seem to get it right."

"It's incredible! So that means you're immortal then?"

"No. Not immortal. I can only do so twelve times. When I grow old for the last time, I'll die just like everyone else."

The two old friends stood and stared at each other for a few moments before Ian broke the silence.

"Well Doctor, I was just on my way home. Why don't you come have some tea with me and Barbara?"

The Doctor looked surprised. "You and Barbara? You mean…the two of you are…?"

Ian looked amused. "'Shacking up', is the correct expression these days, I believe. When we got back we found that two years had passed. Most people thought we had run away together anyway. And I realized that I actually had fallen for her, and she for me. We plan on getting married in the spring."

"Oh brilliant! I haven't been to a good wedding since…well, a very long time. That is, if I'm invited of course."

Ian clasped the Doctor's shoulder. "Well, of course you are! We'd be honored to have you come. Just don't bring any Daleks with you" he quipped.

The Doctor smiled and held up his hand in a 'scout's honor' fashion. "I promise, no Daleks."

"Wonderful. Now come on, and lets go surprise Barbara. She'll be thrilled to see you again."

**Please, please, please leave a review. This is my first DW story and I really want to do it right. So tell me if I start to screw things up. I can take constructive criticism just not flamers. Thanks everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from the show, but the story itself is mine.**

**Chapter 3.**

The two men walked out of the school together and crossed the parking lot to Ian's car.

The Doctor climbed in the passenger side. "Niiiice car, Chesterton. A '63 Bentley? How do you afford it on a teacher's salary?"

Ian laughed. "That's the advantage of having a brother who works for Bentley. When he's ready for a new car, which with him is every two or three years, I can get his old one fairly cheap. Barbara and I went and picked it up yesterday."

The Doctor nodded. "Hooray for well placed family! Drive on, young man, drive on!"

Ian backed out of his space and headed for the gates, only to stop halfway down the drive.

"What?" queried the Doctor. "Is something wrong?"

Ian was staring out the driver's side window across the grounds at the Tardis. "No Doctor, nothing's wrong. It's just…"

"Just what?"

Ian smiled in an almost embarrassed sort of way. "A couple of days after Barbara and I got back, we were out shopping for things to fill out our new flat. When we turned a corner onto one of the Highroad streets there was a police box standing there. Now both of us knew that it had been there for years, but it was still…well, I just had to open it and look inside. When it wasn't the Tardis, I honestly can't say if I was more disappointed, or relieved." He looked back at the seemingly incongruous blue box. "But there she stands. Still the same."

"I redecorated the inside a bit, you want to go and have a quick look?" the Doctor asked looking at Ian out of the corner of his eye.

Ian sat quietly behind the wheel for a moment, eyes fixed firmly on the Tardis. Then he slowly turned back around. "No, Doctor. Thank you, but…I just can't. It's still too soon for me."

He dropped the car into gear and continued on through the gates and onto the road.

"So tell me Doctor, how long has it been for you since we left? For us it's only been nine days, but you made it sound like a hundred years. Has it really been that long?"

"Several hundred, Chesterton. I was so young back then. You knew me in my first life. This is my tenth self."

"Tenth?! Amazing! So how old are you?"

"Oy! Bit of a rude question isn't it?"

Ian laughed. "It's not the first time you've accused me of rudeness is it?"

"Ha! No, I guess it isn't. In Earth terms I am nearly 970 years old. When you knew me back then I was about 400 or so. Give or take a decade."

"Incredible! So what have you done since then? Settled down or…." Ian never finished his sentence for at that moment a colossal explosion on the road ahead sent the car skidding into the ditch.

The Doctor sprang out of the car and ran to the other side. "Chesterton! Ian! Are you alright?"

Ian touched his forehead and blinked several times, trying to clear the haze from his thoughts. "Yes, I'll be alright in a minute Doctor. Just hit my head on the steering wheel I think. What happened?"

The Doctor quickly looked around the area. "I don't know. Some kind of explosion. I think…"

Another sudden explosion behind them pelted them with rocks and debris, causing them to dive for cover behind the car.

"Someone's firing at us Doctor!" yelled Ian.

"Yeah I figured that out Chesterton! Quick, run for the Tardis!"

The two men headed back down the road, running as if all the demons of hell were behind them. When they reached the gates, they made a beeline for the safety of the blue box. But as they approached the cricket pitch, two large, rounded metallic forms rolled around from behind the Tardis, their loud mechanical voices screeching.

"It is the Doctor! You are an enemy of the Daleks! Halt or you will be exterminated!"

Ian and the Doctor stopped dead in their tracks, and raised their hands in surrender as two more Daleks rolled out into view behind them.

"At least now we know who was firing at us, Doctor. What should we do now?" When the Doctor didn't respond, Ian turned and looked at him. "Doctor?"

The Doctor's face registered the shock his mind felt. "Daleks…regular old Daleks! But it can't be! There are no more of you! Only the Cult of Skaro Daleks are left! Where did you lot come from? You're all supposed to be dead! Wiped out of time!"

The first Dalek spoke up. "We four escaped from the void you banished us to! Now we shall have our revenge upon the one who destroyed our race! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The others joined in the hideous chorus. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Doctor shouted them down. "Wait! How? How did you escape? It should be impossible! The void was sealed. You should have been there forever."

The Daleks' eyestalk swiveled round to face him. "The one called the cyberleader found an opening to another dimension and fled into it. We followed and exterminated the inferior mechanoid. The humanoids of that dimension had discovered how to open a gateway to the void. We destroyed them and adapted the technology to our own. Upon returning to this dimension we ran temporal scans and found a weak signal from a self destruct mechanism on an old Dalek time travel device in this time period and came to investigate. Now that we have captured you, we shall free our brethren and conquer all realities!"

The Doctor looked like a broken man. "It's my fault, all my fault. I thought I was being clever, trapping them between worlds. But I was wrong, they just escaped again. I can't do anything right, I just kill everything I touch, all the people I meet, Astrid should have been a clue, I couldn't even save her, I can't save anyone, I've destroyed the world, all the worlds…" he rambled on and on in shock.

Ian grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Doctor! Get a hold of yourself! What do we do?"

"You might try running!" cried a voice from across the pitch.

Suddenly there was a bright flash as one of the Daleks exploded. The other three turned and began firing at the figure that had just destroyed one of their number.

"Under attack! Return fire!" was repeated several times as they tried to track the shooter who was now running helter skelter for the woods of the nearby park. "Ignore target! Ignore! The Doctor is escaping! Exterminate!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Doctor and Ian bolted for the Tardis, barely managing to slip inside before the Dalek guns began assaulting the door. Dashing to the controls, he sent the ship into the time stream and they dematerialized away from the Daleks rage.

**Okay there's chapter 3. Finally some action! I hope you all enjoy it, and I thank all you guys for your kind words in your reviews, especially THE UNEARTHLY IDIOT. Please keep up telling me if it's good or not. It's not for my own ego, I really want to make this the best it can be. So if I screw something up, tell me. I'm a big boy. I can take it if it's my fault. Chapter 4 soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from the show, but the story itself is mine.**

**Author Notes: Thanks for the encouraging words MINI LIBRARIAN and everyone else as well. Hope you guys like this chapter enough to continue the great feedback.**

**Chapter 4.**

The Tardis launched into the time stream with a lurch because of the sudden takeoff.

Once he regained his balance, Ian looked at the very different, yet familiar surroundings of the time and space vehicle. "Well that was a near thing. Who was that man?" He looked at the Doctor who was staring blankly ahead. "Doctor? Are you alright?"

The Doctor didn't move, didn't speak. He just continued to stare at nothing in particular.

Ian moved around the console until he stood directly in front of him. "Doctor, what do we do now? About the Daleks, I mean?" Still getting no reaction, Ian began to feel desperation creep over him. He grabbed the Time Lord by his upper arms and shook him. "Doctor! Come out of it man! What do we do?"

The Doctor looked at Ian like it was the first time he'd seen him. Still saying nothing he slowly walked to one of the captain's chairs, sat down with his face in his hands and quietly began to cry.

After a few moments, he looked up at the stunned schoolteacher. "It's over, Chesterton. They've beaten me. I thought I was so clever, but no matter what I do, they come back. I destroyed Skaro, and they came back. I trapped them in the void between universes and they came back. I'm so old and useless. I can't do anything right anymore."

Ian glared at him. "I was wrong."

The Doctor looked up, confusion on his tear-streaked face. "What?"

"I said 'I was wrong'. You haven't changed. Your body yes, but the man inside is still the same self-pitying old man you always were. It doesn't matter that you have more knowledge than the whole human race combined could ever hope to have, you're 'old and useless'!" mimicking the Doctor's words, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The Doctor's face hardened. "Stop it."

Ian didn't even slow down. "It doesn't matter that you've got the most incredible time machine, you're 'old and useless'!"

"Stop it!"

"It doesn't matter that you've fought and defeated these same enemies before, you're 'old and useless'!"

The Doctor jumped to his feet and stood toe to toe with Ian. "I said stop it!" he yelled.

"I haven't even gotten started yet!" Ian yelled back. "The first sign of trouble and it's always 'poor old Doctor! Oh pity me!"

The Doctor's face grew livid. "Shut up Chesterton or I'll…!"

"You'll what?" he interrupted. "Throw me off the ship, like you threatened to do before? That's your answer to everything, isn't it? Run away! You coward! You'll just leave the Earth to die!"

The Doctor's fist smashed into his jaw and Ian fell to the floor. "I said shut up!"

Ian rubbed his jaw as he looked up at the enraged god of time and space standing over him, fist drawn back to deliver another blow. "Or what Doctor? You'll 'exterminate' me? When did you become like the Daleks?" he asked quietly.

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock. He looked down at his clenched fist. Slowly it uncurled.

He stood perplexed for a moment, then looked down at Ian who was still sprawled on the floor.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Chesterton. I'm so sorry." He sat back down and stared at the floor. "You're right. I am a coward. But not for myself: for everyone around me. I've lost so much because of the Daleks. My friends, my family, my whole race…Rose."

Ian slowly climbed to his feet. "Who?"

"A girl I traveled with, for a time. She was special to me."

"I'm sorry, Doctor." said Ian, and he meant it. "But I can't help you with your past. I don't know anything about your battles with the Daleks after I left. I can only deal with what's happening in the present. Is that why they're after you now? Because you destroyed Skaro?"

"No. That was long ago, at the end of the Time War."

"Time War? I don't understand."

"When the Daleks gained the power of time travel, my people, the Time Lords, realized they could become powerful enough to conquer everything everywhere in every time period. So they moved to stop them. It was the first time in ages my people had decided to interfere. They'd always lived by an oath not to. But the Dalek threat was too great to ignore."

Ian nodded. "So they fought a Time War. What happened?"

"Both sides lost. Everyone died,except me, because I ran away. All the Time Lords and Daleks gone. I was the last, or so I thought. Then four Daleks called the Cult of Skaro came back, dragging an old Time Lord's prison ship filled with Daleks with them. 

I trapped them in the void between the dimensions after they had been set free, but Rose got trapped in a different dimension when I did it. I couldn't save her…"

Not wanting the Doctor to slip back into the mood he had just forced him out of, Ian changed the subject. "Alright, I think I understand that much, Doctor. But it doesn't explain how the Daleks got here now, or who the man that rescued us was. Did you know him?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Didn't get a good look at him. The flash from that exploding Dalek gave me spots in my vision."

Ian nodded. "Yeah, me too. I think I caught a glimse of him running for the trees though. Hopefully he got away." He sat down on the railing. "So what do we do now? We can't leave those Daleks on Earth, can we?"

The Doctor sighed heavily. "No. We can't. But honestly, I don't know what to do yet. I don't have enough information."

He stood and began resetting the controls. "So...first we go and get some, and then we plan."

"Where are we going?"

"Back where we were, of course."

Ian lurched to his feet. "What? Why? Won't the Daleks still be there?"

"Yep. So will the man who shot at them. He saved us, so now we can return the favor."

"That is if the Daleks haven't killed him already."

The Doctor nodded. "Possible, but we owe it to him to try."

The Tardis reeled with the effort of making the abrupt u-turn in the time stream, making Ian smile even after being thrown into one of the captain's chairs. "Still the same old bumpy ride, eh Doctor?"

"Well, the Tardis wasn't really built for these short hops. She's more of a long-distance runner than a sprinter."

They exited the vortex and materialized in the middle of the park the man had run into after his attack on the Daleks.

The Doctor opened the doors and scanned with his sonic screwdriver.

"Find anything, Doctor?"

"Yep, whoever he is, he's still alive and coming this way. Must have heard us materialize. Stand here and wait for him. Soon as he's in, shut the doors and I'll get us out of here." he said as he headed back to the controls.

Ian searched the tree line watching for any trace of movement. Suddenly about 50 yards away the man came barreling out of a thicket, running flat out for the safety of the doors. A moment later two Daleks followed, firing wildly. "Exterminate!"

As he reached the machine, he dived in through the doors yelling "Go! Go! Go!" while firing several shots back out at his pursuers. Ian slammed the doors shut just as the Doctor sent them hurtling back into the vortex.

"Oh no…" the Doctor said as he saw their rescuers identity.

The man got up and dusted off his long trenchcoat. "Now is that any way to greet an old friend, Doctor?" he asked.

Ian held out his hand. "Well I can't speak for the Doctor, but I'm grateful to you. My name's Ian...Ian Chesterton."

The man's eyes twinkled as he shook Ian's hand. "Hellooo. I'm Capt. Jack Harkness." he said flashing his best come-on smile.

The Doctor's eyes rolled upwards. "Stop it." he said in that warning tone he reserved solely for Jack.

**Well chapter 4 is done. You all know the drill. Review, review, review! Hopefully chapter 5 will be up in a couple of days, but you may have to wait. I got halfway through this one yesterday, but I woke up this morning with the flu settling down on me. I managed to finish it today but I feel really crappy. I'll be okay though. Not gonna let a little bug stop me. Hope you enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story is mine however, and I retain all rights to it.**

**A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait. I've been really sick. Hopefully I can get back on track now. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 5.**

The Doctor half-leaned, half-sat on the rail and folded his arms across his chest. "So Jack…what are you doing here in 1965?"

Jack sat down the overly large weapon he had been firing at his pursuers only a few moments before. "Rescuing you apparently." He patted the gun affectionately. "Good thing I had 'Big Bertha' with me, huh Doc?"

"You know what I mean, Jack. You're not supposed to be here. You're already here in one form. If the two of you should meet…" he snapped his fingers as he allowed his voice to trail off.

"Yeah, I know. A small ship or a pod of some kind came down in Dartmoor, giving off a weird kind of temporal reading. I went to investigate. When I got to the wreckage, it blew up in my face and I woke up in 1965."

"It blew up in your face? You're very lucky you weren't killed." said Ian incredulously.

The Doctor answered him before Jack could. "He probably was. You see, Ian…good old Jack here is immortal. His body just repaired itself before he woke up."

"Immortal? I'm sorry. I thought you were human. What race are you?"

Jack laughed. "Oh, I'm just as human as you are. I became immortal…by accident."

"You make it sound as if immortality is a bad thing."

Jack smiled sadly. "Do I?"

"Anyway, how did you know we were here?" asked the Doctor.

"Actually, I didn't." He held up his vortex manipulator. "I was hitchhiking back to London when I picked up a small temporal disturbance on this thing a few days ago, and decided to look into it. I thought maybe it might be a way back. Imagine my surprise when I came out of the park's woods and saw the Tardis sitting there. I was just about to head for it when those Daleks flew in and hid behind it. I figured discretion was the better part of valor and I waited for my chance. That's when you two came running up."

"And the rest, as they say, is history." said Ian with a smile. "So, what part of history do you come from Mr. Harkness? Some time in the future I'd say, judging from that gun."

"Please, call me Jack. Well currently I make my home in 2008 Cardiff, but I was born quite a bit further along than that…" Jack was saying when the Doctor interrupted.

"Just a minute! A small temporal disturbance? How many days ago?"

"Uhh, nine" he answered, counting the days in his head. "Why?"

The Doctor grinned widely and pointed at Ian. "That was you!"

"Yes, it would appear so. Hang on Doctor. Couldn't we just go back in time and…well, stop it from self destructing, or disable the signal or something?" Ian asked hopefully.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. It would cause a paradox."

Jack nodded. "That's right. If there's no signal, then I won't be here to rescue you from the Daleks."

Ian grinned. "Ah, but if there's no signal the Daleks won't come to investigate, so we won't need saving. Right Doctor?"

"You're both right, because if there's no signal, I don't come here to investigate either, Ian. Time will try to reset itself, and go on its natural course, but it won't be able to because we won't have met again, and if we don't, then we can't go back and change the past. The time streams will tear themselves to bits trying to override each other, and the world will cease to exist. That's the paradox." the Doctor said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"So what do we do now?"

Jack picked up Big Bertha. "We go Dalek hunting, right Doctor?"

"Well first we've got to find them." He began adjusting the scanner as he spoke. "They came here through time, so that means they've got a Dalek time travel device somewhere. Regular Daleks don't have the emergency time shifters that the Cult of Skaro ones do. So, if we scan for traces of temporal movement we should be able to home in on their hiding pla…oh no."

Ian stepped over and stood at the Doctor's side. "What? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that, yeah. I've found the Daleks time device."

Ian looked at the scanner, but could make nothing of the information displayed there. "Where is it?" he asked confused, as Jack rounded the console to look for himself.

The Doctor flipped a switch and the picture zoomed out to reveal an old, magnificent building surrounded by throngs of people watching guards in red uniforms march in perfect unison.

Ian's jaw dropped.

Jack looked at the Doctor. "You mean the Daleks are…?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Yes. Buckingham Palace."

**Ok, chapter 5 is finally up. Sorry it's so short, I'll make up for it I promise.**

**Please, please, please, REVIEW! Otherwise I'll think you've lost interest.**

**Thanks all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story is mine however and I retain all rights to it.**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for being so patient. I suffered a death in my family three weeks ago and really haven't felt like writing. But I'm better now and will try to get back on track. Hope you like this twist!**

**Chapter 6.**

The Tardis came to rest in a quiet corridor of the castles west wing. The Doctor stuck his head out and scanned with his sonic screwdriver, then pulled back inside with a scowl. "They've set up some kind of time bubble around the palace. It's interfering with my scans." He snapped it off and returned it to his pocket. "Oh well, I guess we do this the hard way. Come on."

The three men disembarked; Jack strapping 'Big Bertha' around his shoulders.

The Doctor glanced at Jack's choice of weapons. "Can't talk you out of bringing that thing I suppose?"

Jack energized the weapon, pumping the slide like a rifle from an old western. "Not this time, Doc. I've seen too much Dalek 'hospitality'."

Ian nodded. "I can certainly agree with that. I've been their 'guest' before too. It's not something I'd like to do again."

The Doctor acquiesced. "All right. But lets not just rush in shooting, ok? The Daleks may not have originally come here to conquer, but now that they are here it won't take them long to start. I want to find out how they plan on freeing the others."

Quietly they followed the long corridor, pausing to glance in any open doors before moving quickly on. Room after room they scoured the castle looking for any sign of life, but none showed itself. The castle seemed to be deserted.

The Doctor looked out a window. The guards were still changing; their feet stamping and arms swinging in perfect precision.

"Riiiight. People outside, but no one inside, at least on this floor. That means whatever the Daleks have done, they've kept it quiet so far. With that time bubble in place no one outside knows a thing yet. Maybe we can keep it that way." He paused, looking at Jack. Then over his shoulder he said "Ian, go take a peek down the stairway at the end of the hall, see if the coast's clear."

"Right, Doctor." came the reply, as Ian went quickly out the door.

"Ok, Jack" the Doctor said once they were alone. "Lets have it. I know you're from my personal future. That much I can tell from the scanner readings. But your body language tells me much more. You're more nervous than I've ever seen you. What are you so afraid of?"

Jack looked stunned. "You scanned me? When?"

"When I was scanning for the Daleks in the Tardis. Now, the last time you and I faced the Daleks together, they killed you and Rose brought you back. But we've met since then and I know that isn't what has you scared now. This is something new. So what is it Jack? What is it about the Daleks that's got you so afraid?"

Jack stiffened slightly. "I don't know what you mean." He started walking towards the door when the Doctor spoke again, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"The Daleks come back again, don't they Jack. Sometime in the very near future." He walked over and looked the Torchwood leader directly in his eyes. "And something they do scares you to death, doesn't it? Now I don't want to Jack, but you know I have to ask. Are you really here by accident, or is this related to what is going to happen?"

Jack's eyes flashed with anger. He answered with a voice like the low thunder of an approaching storm. "You know I can't tell you that, Doctor. I can't give you knowledge of your own future. It might alter things that must happen."

The two men stood silently, each staring hard at the other; the span of five heartbeats past, then ten.

The silence was broken then as Ian stepped back through the door. "The coast's clear Doctor. There doesn't seem to be anyone in the immediate downstairs area either."

The Doctor nodded, never taking his eyes from Jack's. "Alright, lets go."

As Ian turned to head back down the hall, the Doctor grabbed Jack's arm and whispered quietly "We'll finish this conversation later, Jack", then turned and followed the young schoolteacher.

Jack let out a sigh of relief, adjusted Bertha's strap, and set out behind them. They descended the stairs and resumed their room to room search.

Halfway down the hall, as they were about to open another door, a Dalek came around the corner. "Intruders located. It is the Doctor. Halt or you will be exterminated!" it commanded, it's nerve-grating electronic voice rebounding loudly off the walls.

"Run!"

The three men propelled themselves down the corridor at full speed, turning the corner just as the Dalek's beams burned the air where they had stood a heartbeat before. They flew down the steps, running down a short corridor which emptied out into a grand hall. They could hear the Dalek coming down the stairs after them still screaming for their extermination and knew they had only moments before they were under fire again.

Jack dropped to one knee and shouldered Bertha. The Doctor stopped in mid-run, grabbing at the frame of the door he was going through to halt his momentum. "What are you doing? Come on Jack!"

"Nope. I'm through running from these bastards" he replied, drawing a bead on the now emerging monster.

He pulled the trigger and the gun spat out its lethal burst of concentrated plasma, but this time the bolt splashed harmlessly against the Dalek's shield. Jack dropped the now useless gun, diving and rolling to avoid the returned fire. He ran through the doorway and joined the others who had hung back to watch.

"Ok, maybe I'm not done running yet" he said breathlessly. "It looks like they've improved their shielding."

"Yes, it does. Must not have had them up when you shot the first one" replied the Doctor. "Come on. Let's go through here."

They passed into another room, and then another, finally stopping at a locked door. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and used it to pick the lock.

"I think we lost it" Ian said as they quickly entered the next room.

Suddenly another Dalek appeared in front of them. "Halt! Do not move! You are our prisoner!"

"Back!" yelled the Doctor, but as they turned the Dalek that had been pursuing them arrived, cutting off their retreat.

Realizing they had nowhere to run, the Doctor raised his hands. "Alright, I surrender! Just let these two go. I'm the one you want anyway."

"Silence! They will not be released!"

"Why not? They can't do you any harm."

The Dalek's eyestalk zeroed in on the Doctor's face. "Because you wish it" it replied simply.

It moved backwards and to the side, its midsection and top turning counter to its base in order to keep its eye and gun trained on them. "This way. Move."

They walked across the room, which appeared to be a storage area of some sort as it was filled with shelves full of boxes. On the far side, guarded by the third Dalek, sat several people.

Ian let out a gasp. "My God! Doctor, it's the royal family!"

The Doctor walked quickly over. "Your Majesties, are you alright?"

The Queen nodded, obviously upset, but unwilling to totally lose her regal bearing. "Yes, Doctor. Thus far we have not been harmed."

"Where are your staff and retainers, Ma'am?" asked Ian. "The castle appears to be empty."

"They were murdered by those…things" her husband answered. "The staff surrendered when we were taken, and then the bastards killed them."

The Dalek spoke up. "They were useful as hostages in order to clear the palace, but now they are no longer necessary. They will be exterminated."

"No! You've already killed enough people" the Doctor said stepping between it and its intended targets. "What is it you want? Daleks never do anything without a reason. You're here for some purpose and I want to know what it is."

The Dalek turned and rolled to a machine sitting against one wall. "We needed a place where we could work undisturbed. This building was perfectly suited. Even if they knew we were here, the humans would not attack it for fear of harming their leaders. Now that the time bubble is in place it no longer matters if they find out. No one can breach the time bubble without a time machine."

"Yeah, I know all that. Time bubbles are basic temporal mechanics. What I wanna know is…how are you gonna free the other Daleks? What is this thing?" The Doctor reached into his pocket and retrieved his spectacles. "It looks like you've cannibalized your own time devise…"

The Dalek extended its arm between him and the machine. "Get away from the temporal control unit! Back! Back!" it screeched.

"Ok! Ok! I was just going to point out that it won't work anyway. That sub-harmonic stabilizer is broken."

The Daleks eyestalk swung around to look at the machine. "You lie! The machi…" it started to say.

The Doctor sprang past and grabbed the temporal control unit, jumping behind a small table nearby and holding the devise above his head. "Stop! Make one move and I'll smash this, and from the look of things you don't have enough spares to make a new one. Now let them go, or else."

"Put the control unit down! Obey! Obey the Daleks!"

"They'll kill you Doctor!" yelled Jack.

"No they won't. They need this control unit. If they shoot me, it might get damaged. If they shoot you, then I destroy it. Either way they lose." He turned back to the Dalek. "Now let them go."

"No."

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"No. You will place the control unit on the table and move away or we will exterminate the others one at a time. You have ten seconds."

"Let them go! I mean it! I will destroy it!"

"You will not. If you do then you will have nothing to bargain with. Five seconds. Four. Three. Tw…"

"Alert! Emergency! Incoming temporal activity!" cried one of the other Daleks.

A familiar sound began to be heard, and a familiar shape began to take substance between the Daleks and the others.

The Doctor threw the unit at the wall next to the Dalek and ran for the Tardis doors, fumbling for his key. "Quick everybody into the Tardis!" he cried throwing open both doors and bolting inside.

The hoped for distraction worked as the Dalek turned its eye momentarily to the wreckage of the device, before rolling around to get a clear shot. "He has destroyed the control unit! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The others came swiftly in, Ian and Jack slamming the doors as the Daleks began blasting away.

Ian breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we're out of there. I didn't know the Tardis could fly itself."

"Umm, hello. Who are you people?" came an unfamiliar voice.

Jack stepped by the royal family who stood gawping at the huge interior of the small blue box.

The Doctor was also gawping, not at the Tardis, but at the man who stood by the console.

The man stepped forward. "How did you get in here?"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Jack asked.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

**Yea! Chapter 6 is done. If ya wanna know which Doctor this is then ya gotta leave a review! (A good one I hope!) More later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story is mine however and I retain all rights to it.**

**Chapter 7.**

"It can't be you! It just can't!"

A confused look came over the new arrival's features. "I assure you it can be. I **am** the Doctor, but you still have not explained who y…wait a moment. I **do** know you."

He walked over to stand directly in front of his future self and stared him full in the face. "It's you. You're the one I crashed into, back in our 5th self's time. Which one are you again?"

The Doctor swallowed hard. "10th. But you can't be here, it's not possible!"

"Why not? We do travel in time you know" he said grinning at his other self's confusion.

The Queen cleared her throat. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" replied both men as they turned towards the sound of her voice. The former Doctor's face registered shock upon realizing who she was. He glanced around at the others who now stood staring at him.

"The Royal Family!" He bowed formally. "Welcome aboard the Tardis, Your Majesties. I am afraid I am a bit unprepared for guests, however if you will give me a few moments I shall fetch some refreshments and some extra chairs."

"Thank you, but first, will you be so kind as to explain just who you are? I believe that this man is the Doctor" said the Queen, pointing at the present Doctor.

"Of course, ma'am, though I fear the explanation may seem a bit strange. You see, I am also the Doctor. This Doctor is my future self, just as I am his past self."

"Then why do you look different than he?"

"When one of my race has come to the end of their body's lifespan or suffers a grievous injury that would normally result in death, we use the energies of time to renew ourselves. In essence becoming a whole new person. But believe me, ma'am, I am indeed the same man."

"I still don't understand how this place is larger inside than out." said the Prince of Wales still gawking at the Tardis's interior.

The Queen glared at him. "Do be quiet, Charles, and stop staring at everything. You look like a tourist."

Prince Philip cleared his throat, eager to stop an argument before it got started. "So then, Doctor, if he's the 10th, which one are you?"

"I am the 8th Doctor, Your Highness."

Jack's eyes went wide and he turned to look at his Doctor. "8th?" he whispered. "Then that means…?"

The Doctor nodded slowly, his answer also quiet. "Yes. It's him. The 'Great Destroyer'."

"But I thought you said you regenerated just after the Time War."

"I did. That's me from before the war. For him, it hasn't happened yet."

He marched over and grabbed his former self's arm. "You **cannot** be here."

Pushing away the offending appendage, his younger self stared hard at him. "You keep saying that, and yet here I am. What makes you so sure?"

"Because I don't remember this happening when I was you, and I think I would remember the two of us together with the Royal's in the Tardis and Daleks in Buckingham Palace!"

The younger Doctor grinned. "I see we still haven't learned to talk any slower when we get excited about something."

Frustration began to set in on the elder Doctor.

"Will you please be serious and just listen for a moment? I have no memory of the two of us meeting, and as I **have been **you and you **are** meeting me now, I should remember! But I don't, and that means something's not right!"

Frustration now began to set in on the younger.

"I don't see that it matters. When our first three selves met, none of them remembered it from their pasts either. Nor did our first five selves come to think of it."

"Both of those times were unique circumstances! The High Council caused the first and Barusa caused the second by using the Time Scoop! No, just by the mere fact that you can remember me from our 5th self's time proves that I should remember being you and meeting me from when I was you as well!"

The younger rolled his eyes, shook his head, crossed his arms over his chest and sighed deeply.

"Well, as I'm our 8th self and you're our 10th, perhaps something happened to make our 9th self forget!"

The elder grimaced, smacking his forehead with his open hand. "Thick, thick, thick! Of course he didn't forget! I'd remember if something happened to make our 9th self forget!"

The younger laughed. "No, you wouldn't. You would have forgotten it!"

Red-faced, the elder now began to yell. "I mean that I would remember something happening that was so traumatic that it would make me forget something else happening!"

Now also red-faced, the younger shouted back. "Not necessarily! Not if it was so traumatic that it made you forget it as well!"

"Nothing like that has happened, except maybe…" he stopped suddenly in mid yell, his mind reeling from the sudden revelation. "The Time War." he thought. "Somehow it causes him to forget all this."

The younger looked at him confusedly, obviously waiting for him to complete his sentence. "Well? Except maybe…what?"

The elder Doctor's face went stony. "Nothing. Just forget about it. I was wrong, you **can** be here. Now just drop it."

The younger gave him a wary once-over, then after a moment's pause, shrugged and turned towards the door to the Tardis' interior rooms. "As you wish."

He stopped at the door and turned back.

"Mr. Chesterton, would you give me a hand please? By Jove, it's good to see you again. You don't look a day older though. Where are you now?" he asked as the two of them left the console room.

A few heartbeats passed before Jack spoke. "It was the Time War, wasn't it? That's what caused you to forget." He looked at the door they had disappeared through. "And you can't ever tell him, can you?"

"No. If I do, then he'll never release the Nightmare Child and the Dalek Empire will win."

"So what do we do now?"

The Doctor let out a long sigh. "First we get the Royal family to safety; then you, me and Ian return to my Tardis and send…**him**…back to his own path." He walked over and examined the controls.

Jack moved to stand beside him. "What about the Daleks?"

"Yeaaahhh. Still working on that part." He began to throw switches and press buttons, altering the Tardis's flight path slightly.

At that moment his alter-self returned, followed by Ian, who was carrying a chair in one hand and a tray of snacks in the other. "What are you doing?"

"Taking us to Downing Street. Should be the safest place to drop off the Royal's." He looked up at the face from his past. "And then, if you would be so kind, you can take us back my Tardis and then go about your merry way."

The younger Doctor smiled. "No, I don't think so."

"What?"

"You want me to leave now, and miss out on all the excitement? Not a chance." He leaned over his elder self's arm and pulled a lever; the Tardis groaned and vibrated in response to its master's command, settling down as it began to materialize.

**Well that's 7. Sorry for the long wait, I hope it was worth it. Let me know what you think, ok?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story itself is mine, and I retain all rights to it.**

**A/N: Thanks everyone for your patience. Stick with me please, I promise I will finish this story.**

--

**Chapter 8.**

Ian Chesterton had a splitting headache.

This morning he had gone to work without a care in the world, and now barely 12 hours later, his life had been turned upside down by the reappearance of not one, but two, different incarnations of the cantankerous old time traveler he had grown to respect and admire.

But even though he still respected these Doctors, at the moment they were leaving him very little to admire.

Ever since they had left the Royals with the P.M., the two of them had done precious little other than argue over anything and everything that the other said, and Ian's headache had grown until now he had finally reached the breaking point.

"Shut up!" he cried, slamming his fist down on the Tardis' console. The two Doctors both stared at him wide eyed with shock. "I am sick to death of hearing the two of you bicker and argue! I realize things may have gotten a bit confused what with you meeting yourself and all, but that's no excuse for all this animosity! Either start behaving like gentlemen or take me home!"

Both Doctor's looked chagrinned.

Jack, who sat in one of the antique chairs, with his feet propped up on an ottoman, began clapping.

"Bravo, Ian, bravo! Getting a little tired of it myself." He stood up and looked the elder Doctor square in the face. "All this solves nothing. Besides what would Martha say if she could hear you two now? Or Rose?"

The younger Doctor looked confused. "I'm sorry? Martha? Rose?" He looked at his older self. "I assume these must be your companions. Where are they now?"

The elder looked uncomfortable. "Martha went home. I…lost Rose."

"What do you mean, you lost her? She died?"

Jack shook his head. "No. She got trapped in a parallel world."

The younger Doctor laughed. "Well that's no problem. It's a simple trip."

"Not anymore." quickly interjected the elder. "The Time Lords…stopped controlling inter-dimensional travel. The pathways have all sealed themselves. She got sent there accidentally."

"What do you mean 'stopped controlling'? Why would they?"

A little louder than he meant to, the elder shot back his answer. "There were problems, ok? Certain things happened and they decided to close them all! Now just leave it, alright?"

The younger held up his hands. "Alright! Let's not get our knickers in a twist, shall we?"

"Right. Now, first thing we've got to do is find the Daleks again."

Ian looked confused. "Won't they still be at the palace?"

The elder shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how much damage I did to their plans when I smashed that temporal control unit."

The younger leaned forward resetting a dial the elder had just set. "What are the Daleks doing here anyway? And if they cannibalized their time devise, what are they building?"

The elder re-reset the dial and continued flipping switches. "They're trying to free the rest of the Daleks from the void. When I imprisoned them there I thought it would be forever, but four managed to escape, and now they're trying to free the others."

"I managed to destroy one of them in an ambush, but they seem to have upgraded their shielding now." said Jack as he walked over to the Tardis' central column. "What are you doing? Going back to Buckingham Palace?"

"No, I'm scanning for the weakest point in the wall of the void. I don't know why yet, but that's probably what they're looking for too. That machine they were building was obviously some sort of temporal scanner, but there's no way to open a portal to the void with it."

He stopped for a moment, and turned to Ian. "That Dalek said that they had adapted the technology to open the void from the humans on the other side, right?"

"Yes, it did." said Ian, who had sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "Is it important, Doctor?"

"Maybe. It must have been a very short lived portal if it only allowed four Daleks to escape."

Ian set down his cup. "Maybe the other humans cut it off when the Daleks emerged. I know I would have."

"No. It must be time limited because they used it to cross back over to this side instead of just opening it up and freeing all the rest. But why cross back over? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they needed to come back for some reason, or maybe it was a test of some kind." suggested Jack.

"Well, they didn't bring the equipment across with them, just their own time device. Why leave the opening devise on the other side?"

The younger Doctor stepped around to the other side of the column. "It sounds like they may be trying to build a time bridge."

The elder glanced up from another resetting of the controls. "You can't bridge the void. The two sides are temporally out of phase with each other. Even if you established a control point on both sides you couldn't lock the two separate time fields together."

The younger Doctor twisted a dial, and nodded his head in agreement. "True, not without a sub-harmonic stabilizer."

The elder stopped abruptly. "What?"

The younger looked at him from across the column. "A sub-harmonic stabilizer." He stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest, and looked at his elder self like a schoolmaster at a lazy student. "To synchronize the two time phases with. Don't you remember anything from Barusa's temporal mechanics class? In order to hold open… "

"Oh snap!" interrupted the elder. "I know what they're up to! That's why they're looking for the weakest point! They're not going to bridge the two universes, they're going to **merge** them!"

**Whew! Another chapter finally done! Ok friends, if anyone is still there, then please review and tell me if it was worth the wait.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story itself is mine, and I retain all rights to it.**

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I will finish this story though. Thanks for the encouragement everybody!**

**Chapter 9.**

"What do you mean, merge them?" asked Ian. "You mean **literally**?"

The Elder Doctor continued flipping switches. "Yes, literally. That's why they've built that sub-harmonic stabilizer."

Jack sat down in one of the antique chairs scattered about the Younger Doctor's Tardis. "Well, that's ok then. You said that their stabilizer was broken."

"Yeeeaaahhh, I kind of lied about that. I was looking for a way to distract that Dalek."

The Younger raised an eyebrow. "You mean the Daleks **have **a sub-harmonic stabilizer? Oh dear me, that's bad. But you said you broke their temporal control unit. They can't effect the merger without one."

The Elder moved quickly around the column making further adjustments as he went. "Oh yes they can. All they have to do is find the weakest point in the temporal walls of the two universes and use the machines on the other side to smash a hole through into this universe. Once the rip in the continuum is open they can use the sub-harmonic stabilizer on **this** side to hold the hole open…"

"…causing the void to engulf both universes, of course!" exclaimed the Younger, finishing the other's sentence. "And because the Daleks are all already **in** the void they'll be everywhere at once when the new reality sets in from the mixing of the two timelines!"

Ian leaned forward against the guardrail. "But you said the void was basically a vast emptiness; a negative version of regular universes. What will happen if the two universes do get swallowed by the void? They'll merge and become one?"

"Yes, for as long as it will survive there." answered the Younger.

"He's right, Ian." Jack interjected. "The void is kind of like a giant anti-energy field. Slowly it will begin to drain all the energy from the stars that get pulled into it. Eventually they'll all go out, and any life-forms trapped inside will die. Some people call the void Hell: the place of final destruction."

Ian still looked confused. "But then why hasn't it killed the Daleks if you trapped them in there?"

"Because their outer casing protects them from the lack of atmosphere and the cold. " said Jack.

"Yes, thank you, I do remember that much." Ian replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "What I mean is: if the void is an anti-energy field, why doesn't it drain the power from the Daleks?"

The Younger Doctor looked up approvingly at Ian. "Very good, Mr. Chesterton, bravo. A well thought out question indeed. You're quite right; the void should indeed drain the Daleks just as it does everything else, yet it obviously isn't doing so. They must have somehow found a way to check the energy drain, or else they've found some other source of power within the void itself."

The Elder looked around the column at his Younger self. "There **are** no natural power sources inside the void."

"None that we know of, you mean. The Time Lords have never made an extensive study of the void since it tends to drain Tardis energy just like any other. No one truly knows a whole lot about the place in reality." said the Younger as he returned to helping adjust the controls.

The Elder Doctor let out a groan. "Oh no."

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Ian. "Not working?"

"No, it worked. I've pinpointed the location of the temporal wall's weakest point." He looked up directly at Jack.

"It's Cardiff."

Jack vaulted out of his chair and ran to his side. "Cardiff?!?! You mean the rift is the weak point?!?!"

The elder nodded. "And that's not the worst of it. We're too late. The Daleks have punched the hole already. The void is coming through!"

Ian looked over the Younger's shoulder. "Can you stop it, Doctor…I mean Doctors?"

The Younger scrambled quickly around the console. "Maybe! If I can just…oh, blast! It won't work! The hole's too bloody big!"

The Elder stared at him quizzically. "What won't work? What were you going to do?"

"Use the Tardis as a time dam. Fly inside the rupture and try to stabilize the breach, but there's not enough mass! The rupture is huge! We'd have to have at least half again more mass…" he trailed off.

The Younger's eyes met the Elder's. For an instant the two minds became one as a single idea united them.

"Of course!" said the Younger. "The Master's old plan to stop the universe from unraveling at Logopolis!"

"Brilliant!" cried the Elder, as he trust his hands through his hair, causing it to momentarily spike. "But it's insanely dangerous though, since both Tardis' are the **same **Tardis!"

"I agree, but it does seem to be our only option."

The Elder nodded. "Right. Locking coordinates…now!" He tripped two switches simultaneously. "C'mon Jack! I need your vortex manipulator!" he said as he strode towards the former time agent.

"Wait a second!" cried Ian. "Doctor, would you please explain what this plan is? What are we going to do?"

The Elder produced his sonic screwdriver and began unlocking Jack's mini-time machine. "Not 'we', just me and Jack here. You stay here and help me…I mean, help **him**."

Exasperated, Ian looked from one Doctor to the other. "Well will **one **of you at least explain what's going on?"

The Elder glanced at the Younger. "He'll fill you in." He finished the last code and the manipulator hummed to life. "You ready Jack?"

Jack eyed him incredulously. "We're going to time jump out of a vessel that's already in time flight? Has that ever been done before?"

The Elder Doctor met his eyes. "Ah…well…not really, no."

Jack flashed his best devil-may-care smile. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" He grabbed the Elder's arm and slapped at the control, sending them both hurtling into the time stream with a flash.

Ian turned to the Younger Doctor. "All right Doctor, perhaps you'll expl…"

"No time at present, I'm afraid Mr. Chesterton." he interrupted, as the ship's great cloister bell began ringing. "We've a level 7 energy wave caused by the unfolding of the continuum headed straight for us. I suggest you grab hold of something solid."

Ian wrapped his arms around one of the Tardis' central column supports. "How long till we hit it?"

The Younger Doctor looked across the console at his erstwhile companion. "Now." he replied simply.

And then the world went black.

**Chapter 9 finally done! Wow, I hadn't realized it had been so long since I updated this story! I'll try to do better, I promise. Hopefully this chapter will get a few good reviews (hint hint!). **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story however is mine and I retain all rights to it.**

**A/N: A big THANK YOU to everyone. Your encouragement makes all the difference!**

**Chapter 10.**

Clive Billings had been delivering the post for 23 years, and in that time he thought he had seen it all. Everything from naked housewives to near-rabid dogs to dope deals at some of his appointed rounds.

He had even found himself once in the midst of a bungled house burglary. The Chief himself had given him an award for going above and beyond his duty when he tripped the crook and sat on him until the police came to take him away.

But nothing in his entire 23 years of faithful service had prepared him for a bloody great hole appearing in the air directly in from of him and two men falling out of it right on top of him.

The skinnier of the two spoke first. "Sorry, friend. I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

Clive nodded, too stunned to speak.

The larger of the two, an American by his accent Clive thought, lay directly on top of the fallen mail carrier.

"Hi, I'm Capt. Jack Harkness. And you are?"

"Uh…Clive. Clive Billings."

The American smiled. "Nice to meet you Clive Billings."

The skinny man pointed his finger at the American as he regained his feet. "Stop it, Jack. And get off of him."

The American climbed to his feet and offered Clive a hand up. "Y'know, I think I'm just gonna stop introducing myself to people when you're around, Doctor." he said, a bit of irritation in his voice.

"Might get more things done that way, Capt." the skinny man shot back as he fiddled with some piece of equipment he pulled from inside his jacket. "C'mon, the Tardis is about a mile this way."

The American smiled and winked at the still stunned postman. "Take care, Clive." he said as he turned and ran after the skinny man.

Clive stood and watched them go until they rounded a curve in the lane and went out of sight, trying to let what had just happened sink in. Then he bent down, retrieved his bag and the few items that had fallen from it, and began walking slowly down the way towards his next stop, one thought running over and over in his mind. "I wonder what aftershave that American uses. He really smelled good."

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Ian knew he was alive because the dead felt no pain, and he had quite a lot of it at the moment.

The Doctor had stabilized their flight somewhat, after they smashed their way though the level 7 energy wave. "Are you all right, Chesterton?"

Ian blanched when he took in a deep breath. "I think I may have a broken rib, but no other obvious injuries. Are you injured? That was a pretty nasty bump."

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "I'm fine. Help me here if you can."

Ian crossed over next to him. "What do you need me to do?"

"Hold that switch down while I get these coordinates locked in." he said as he rounded the column making various adjustments as he went.

He stopped halfway around, licked his lips, and looked up at Ian. "Chesterton, I taste blood."

"I'm not surprised, Doctor. Your nose is bleeding quite heavily."

"Is it?" queried the Time Lord, looking very un-Time Lord-ish with his eyes crossed as he tried to look at his own nose. Then he suddenly reeled drunkenly. "Oh dear, I shouldn't have done that."

Ian released he switch and ran to him, catching him as he fell. "Doctor! Doctor, are you alright?"

Weakly the Doctor pointed at a small hatch door on the bottom of one wall. "Quick Ian, before I pass out. Open that hatch…and…tell him…what…to do…" he managed to get out before he went unconscious.

Ian shook the now limp Time Lord. "Doctor! Doctor! Wake up! C'mon man! How can I tell anyone what to do when I don't know what to do myself?"

Getting no response, he rose and went to open the hatch as the Doctor had instructed. A button on it was marked 'Press in case of emergency', so Ian pushed it.

It slid open with a low hum, and a small metal form in the shape of a dog rolled out. It's head moved up and down, and it's antenna-like 'ears' waggled back and forth giving Ian the impression that it was looking him over.

"Identity scan negative. You are not the Doctor-master. Please state your identity."

"Uh…well, I'm Ian Chesterton. I'm a friend of the Doctor."

"Where is the Doctor-master?"

Ian stepped aside and pointed. "He's over there, but he's been injured. I'm afraid he's unconscious."

The metal 'dog' rolled over to the Doctor's limp form, and an antenna extended from its head. After a momentary pause, it wheeled itself over to the central column and began interfacing with the great old time machine's memory banks.

"You're assessment is correct. The Doctor-master is unconscious. He has a mild concussion, but should recover soon."

Ian relief was obvious. "Good. I was worried for a minute. Now, who are you and can you control the ship?"

"Online…linking to Tardis mainframe…connected…scanning Tardis memory banks…identity confirmed, you are Ian Chesterton, science teacher, Coal Hill middle school, London, England, Earth, 1965 A.D. old calendar dating."

Ian smiled despite his pain. "Glad to hear I'm still myself."

"I have placed you in my memory banks as 'friend', Ian Chesterton. I will be K-9 mark 4 when the Doctor-master completes me."

Ian's brows knitted. "Completes you? You mean you're not finished being built yet?"

"Affirmative. My internal circuits are not yet fully formed, but I have rudimentary functions and capabilities. Please state the nature of the emergency."

Briefly he explained the situation to the ersatz canine.

"But the real problem is, I don't know what this 'Master's plan to save Logopolis' is except that it requires two Tardis' and it's extremely risky because the two Tardis' they plan on using are the same Tardis from two different parts of the time-stream, or something like that. Do you understand it?"

K-9's ears waggled as he sifted through the Tardis' memory banks for any mention of the plan.

"Affirmative. Details of plan are listed in memory. An inverted linking of two Tardis core control systems causing a system wide cascade effect within…"

"Ok, ok. I get that you get it." Ian interrupted. "The real question is: can you do it?"

"Negative. Only one Tardis is present."

"The other Doctor and Jack haven't arrived yet? They should be at the coordinates by now."

"They do not appear on any of the Tardis scanners."

Ian leaned against the column. "I wonder what's happened to them?"

"Insufficient data to form a hypothesis at this time. You appear to be distressed, Ian Chesterton."

K-9 turned his antenna towards Ian and scanned him. "Medical scan indicates you have a hairline fracture of your third and fourth ribs on your left side, Ian Chesterton. Do you require medical care at this time?"

"No. I'll be alright for now. Just makes it a little hard to breathe." He sat down in the only chair that hadn't flipped over. "Do we have any way of finding them?"

"Negative. We must wait and hope they arrive within the next 13.25 minutes."

"Why? What happens in 13.25 minutes?"

"The hole is growing. It will pass the point of containment by that time."

Ian thoughts raced in his mind. "Is there any way of slowing it down? Maybe we can give the Doctor more time."

K-9 paused, turning the various possibilities over in his logic circuits.

"There is only one possibility with any chance of success. We must fly into the breach and attempt to close it as much as possible, and hope that the Doctor-master arrives before we are destroyed by the forces inside the schism. My calculations show it would slow the rate of expansion by 31.097%."

"How much chance of survival is there?"

"Insufficient data, Ian Chesterton. In order to calculate it properly I would have to know the odds of the Doctor-master returning in time."

Ian sighed. "I was afraid of that. Alright, let's do it. Do you need me to help?"

"Negative. I will control the Tardis. Suggestion: take the Doctor-master and secure him to one of the beds. Through the door, down the corridor, second left, down the corridor, first right, down the corridor, forth door on the left."

Ian shook his head. "Damn, I had almost forgotten how big this ship is." He walked over to the unconscious form of the Doctor. "C'mon Doctor, I just hope you're not as heavy as you look."

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The Doctor and Jack rounded the corner of the corridor and entered the room where they had left the Tardis in Buckingham Palace.

"Good thing Her Majesty told the guards to let us back in. With all the security swarming this place it would have been impossible to sneak in." said Jack, out of breath from the long sprint.

The Doctor fished out his key and opened the door. "Let's go Jack. We've got a universe to save!"

He ran inside and sent the old type 40 into the time stream.

Jack sidled up next to him. "So what's the plan?"

"Well…first we find the other Tardis, then we interlink the two Tardis cores together. It **should** be enough to dam up the hole and cause the void to collapse back in on itself and seal the breach. In theory that is."

Jack stared at him. "In **theory?** You mean you're not sure?"

The Doctor shrugged. "No, I know it would work if we had two **different **Tardis', I'm just not sure how having two of the **same **Tardis will effect things."

He flipped on the scanner. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "He's taken his Tardis into the breach already! Why! Why would he do that…unless…" He snapped his fingers. "Of course! He's trying to slow the growth! Brilliant!"

He began setting the course for the center of the breach. "Hang on Jack! This is gonna get bumpy!"

**Well there's chapter 10. Hope it was worth the wait! And I hope it answers Rasei's question about other companions making an appearance! Ok folks, review, review, review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Doctor Who. The story however is mine and I retain all rights to it.**

**Chapter 11**

The universe shook as the changes began. Whole civilizations were wiped out and replaced by others. Planets died and were reborn as the timeline unraveled and rewove itself.

A full quarter of the universe had been altered by the time the Doctor flew his Tardis into the breach.

The other Tardis was already there being buffeted by the negative energies pouring forth from the giant hole between the universes.

"Jack! Hold that lever down! Yes! That one there!" The Doctor scrambled around the central column and activated the Tardis' communication circuits. "Come in Doctor! This is the Doctor speaking! Can you hear me?" he yelled into the mike.

A tinny metallic voice answered his call. "Greetings, Doctor-master! Your former self has been injured and is being attended to by Ian Chesterton.

A huge smile broke out on the Doctor's face. "K-9! I forgot that I was working on y…wait! What do mean he's been injured? How badly?" The smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"He has suffered a mild concussion and should recover soon. Suggestion: we should take care of creating the temporal stop-gap before continuing with this conversation! My calculations show that the breach's growth is beginning to accelerate. We have four and one-half minutes until total collapse."

The Doctor began flipping switches. "Yes…right…of course! Let's see! Ummm…ok! Activating temporal phase loop one!"

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K-9 sent the necessary signals along the electronic pathway which connected him to the Tardis.

"Temporal phase loop one…connected. Phase two…initiated."

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The Doctor jumped backwards as a shower of sparks shot forth from the Tardis console.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! The feedback buffer just failed! Jack! Get me the chrono-spanner!" he yelled as he pulled up the floor grating and dived below.

Jack dropped the spanner down to him. "What do I do, Doctor?"

"Watch that panel! If those numbers fall below 10.3 we're done for!" he said as he worked feverishly.

Jack glanced at the figures. "11.53. So far , so good!" he called down to the Time Lord.

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K-9 buzzed a repair signal to a faulty circuit. "You must hurry, Doctor-master. Two minutes and 34 seconds remaining."

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The Doctor's head popped out of the hole in the floor. "I know! I know! Try it now! Initiate temporal power inversion! Open all ventral core channels, and prepare to engage Tardis mainframe linkups!"

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K-9 felt power flowing backwards along the channel he was connected to and severed the link microseconds before a burst of power charged through.

"Temporal power inverted. All ventral core channels open. Tardis mainframe linking up…now! Power increasing! 1.4.…..1.6.…..1.8.…..2.0"

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Jack looked over at the Doctor who was emerging from the depths of the great old time machine.

"The numbers are falling Doctor! 11.35.…..11.32.…..11.30"

The Doctor flipped two switches and pulled the monitor around in front of him. A look of fear crossed his face as he read the figures displayed there. "K-9! We're losing power over here! I won't have enough to complete the link! Is there any way to send me some from your side?"

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"Negative. Analysis indicates withdrawal to be the most prudent form of action."

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"No! There has to be a way." He continued trying to level off the power drain as he thought.

"What about a feedback inversion? No, wait…that won't work. Try intermixing the positron matrix's wave…no, that won't work either!" He slammed his hand down on the console in frustration. "C'mon Doctor! Think!" he exclaimed to himself. "There has to be a w…."

His eyes went wide as an idea began to take shape in his mind. "Yes! Of course!"

The Doctor quickly set about making the necessary changes on his side. As he opened the last circuit he turned and addressed the monitor. "K-9! I want you to open the Eye of Harmony!"

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K-9's circuit's raced electronic thoughts computing the odds of such a stratagem. "Negative Master! My calculations show…"

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"I don't care what the calculations show! I know what I'm doing! Just open it!"

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"Signal sent….the Eye is responding….Tardis power core now fully exposed….power build-up reaching critical mass in 12.4 seconds, Master."

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The Doctor looked at Jack with a huge grin on his face.

Jack's brows knitted together. "What is it? What are you going to do?"

"Oh, you just watch, Jack! Just you watch!"

The Doctor pulled down a lever and pressed a button.

"Alright K-9! Now…reverse the polarity of the neutron flow!"

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K-9 sent the appropriate signal. "Flow reversed….power levels falling to nominal levels….power flow to secondary Tardis stabilized. All ventral core channels firing. Time dam is forming. Zero point six….point seven five….point nine….time dam is in place and holding. The breach is sealed, Master."

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"Yes!" Jack yelled as he grabbed the Doctor in a bear hug. "You did it! Now how do we put right what the Daleks did? Or can we even do it?"

"Oh yes! K-9, invert temporal thrust and engage all drive circuits on my mark! 3...2...1...now!"

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"Affirmative Master. Drive circuits engaged. Temporal incursion loop increasing."

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Jack read the numbers on the display screen. "I don't believe it! The breach is shrinking! And everything is returning to normal. Just like it was before the Daleks opened it! But I don't understand…how?"

The Doctor grinned boyishly. "Oh sorry, did I forget to mention that the Tardis is a time machine?" he asked facetiously. "Once the time dam was in place all I had to do was enclose the breach in the time field of the two Tardis' and run time backwards. The Daleks are back trapped in the void, the holes to both universes are sealed, time has been set right and now all we have to do is…." A flashing light interrupted him. The Doctor's face went pale.

"What's is it, Doctor? Something wrong?" queried the former time agent.

"It's the signal."

Confusion lined Jack's handsome features. "What signal?"

The Doctor turned and stared at him. "It's **the **signal, Jack. The summons back to Galifrey. The Time Lords are calling me…him…home. To fight in the Time War."

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**Whew! Another chapter done! I hope you guys enjoy it! And I hope you leave many reviews! *hint hint***


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